The Pentagon’s point man for the Congressionally directed conversion of civilian employees from the National Security Personnel System said last week he expected the task to be done a year ahead of schedule for the majority of civilians. The Defense Department announced last month the appointment of John James Jr. to lead the effort to move more than 200,000 employees from NSPS back to the old General Schedule system by January 2012 as Congress directed in the 2010 defense authorization act. James said he is “committed to ensure … that employees experience no loss of, or decrease in, pay upon conversion.”
A semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone shot down an air-to-air target in a Dec. 8 test supported by the U.S. Air Force, a notable milestone in the development of the loyal wingman-type drones that will join the fleets of the USAF, other American services, and allies and adversaries.
